Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is putting President Joe Biden and his support for Israel‘s war against Hamas in the hot seat, spearheading a vote on a resolution to examine the war effort.
The Senate is slated to hold a vote on Tuesday on a resolution, which would have the State Department examine if weapons the U.S. has given to Israel have been used to commit acts that violate international human rights law. Sanders has led the effort and told Punchbowl News that he is concerned about how the war is affecting civilians in Gaza.
“The concern that I have is that we are now going to war against the Palestinian people in general,” he told the outlet.
The proposed resolution would task the State Department with investigating “credible allegations of the violation of internationally recognized human rights in Gaza” and “actions the U.S. has taken to limit civilian risk caused by Israeli military action,” among other things.
The resolution is expected to be voted down by most Democrats and Republicans. It continues Sanders’s opposition to how Israel has conducted its war against Hamas terrorists — and how the White House has handled the conflict.
He initially filed the resolution last month, but he previously has been one of the advocates for adding conditions for aid to Israel with regard to how it handles its war with Hamas. Sanders has decried the war as illegal and immoral and said the U.S. “must no longer be complicit in destroying the lives of innocent men, women, and children in Gaza” earlier this month.
Biden has been firm in his support of Israel in its war against Hamas, with the White House dismissing this resolution and previous attempts by progressive members of the Democratic caucus to add conditions to Israeli aid.
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As one of the most liberal members of the Democratic caucus, Sanders has clashed with the Biden administration several times over the war in Israel and not leaning into liberal messaging heading into the 2024 election. In the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, Sanders ran to the left of Biden but failed to win the nomination after more centrist candidates united behind Biden.
Sanders has not said if he will run for reelection to his Senate seat in November.
